It’s been two years since Enna was swept up in a heart-pounding court adventure. Now, having returned to her old life in the forests of Bayern, she is growing restless. When a strange force takes possession of her brother, Liefer, she returns to the capital to seek the help of her friend Isi, Bayern’s princess. But Bayern is tottering on the verge of war with neighboring Tira. When endowed with the terrifying gift that destroyed Liefer, Enna takes herself to war - only to embark on an epic journey of discovery and betrayal that will force her to come of age.

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Publisher's Summary

It’s been two years since Enna was swept up in a heart-pounding court adventure. Now, having returned to her old life in the forests of Bayern, she is growing restless. When a strange force takes possession of her brother, Liefer, she returns to the capital to seek the help of her friend Isi, Bayern’s princess. But Bayern is tottering on the verge of war with neighboring Tira. When endowed with the terrifying gift that destroyed Liefer, Enna takes herself to war - only to embark on an epic journey of discovery and betrayal that will force her to come of age.

Shannon Hale’s fiery companion to her acclaimed retelling of The Goose Girl is dark, intricate, deeply passionate, and ultimately triumphant. Listeners, whether returning to Bayern or making their first visit, will find themselves enthralled.

Would you consider the audio edition of Enna Burning to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, but I'm not a huge fan of a "full cast recording," especially when one of the main readers, the boy who plays Finn has a speech impediment. His s is overpronounced and sometimes pronounced with an sh sound so that "yes" comes out "yesh" or "yeth." It was incredibly distracting.

What did you like best about this story?

I don't really know how to answer this. The Goose Girl is based on a fairy-tale and I think that format helps Hale quite a bit. When departing from the fairy-tale, she sometimes becomes lost. This book had a lot of battles and therefore a lot of repetition. Once Enna is captured by the enemy, the story becomes much more personal and interesting. However, I still did not enjoy it as much as the Goose Girl or the Princess Academy series. I don't know whether I'll get the third and fourth books in the Bayern series. I might read them from the library instead since this book was a slight disappointment and only multi-cast recordings are available.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I would rather have listened to a narrator instead of a full-cast recording. A good narrator can create characters. 10-15 people aren't necessary and they're more distracting than anything. I do think this detracted from the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

*Contains Spoilers* The descriptions of the fire calling to Enna to burn. I liked the fact that she saw what happened to her brother and thought she could do the same, but come off unscathed. The author's descriptions were very similar to explaining an addiction.

I also thought the parts with her lover were particularly moving. If anyone has been in a relationship with a manipulative person, or if you've ever read about Stockholm Syndrome, you can relate to what she went through.

Any additional comments?

*Contains Spoilers* If you read or listened to Goose Girl, you remember Enna as a strong and loyal friend. For most of this book, she's a traitorous wench who hops into bed with the first smooth talking man she comes across. It's disgusting to see these changes, particularly because she completely gets away with it in the end.

I would NOT recommend this to young adults. Very intense story of young adult with a strange power that she is fighting with to the point that she torches and kills several people. NOT a good thing for struggling potentially-mentally ill teens to get into their heads!

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